Process of molding



to cracking.

Patented Apr. 2, 1929; I

UNITED STATES PA ENT OFFICE. j

CHARLES E. TUBRnLn'oF LAKEWOOD, 01x10, nssrenon TO THE noNoBLoc COMPANY,

' orpo'vER, 01110, AcoRPonAmoN or OHIO.

rnocnss or MOLDING.

No: Drawing.

This invention relates to a moldable 'compound and the process of molding or producing a molded article therefrom,

The object of the inventi nus to 5 a plastic compound which can be molded to produce 'aIt-lClGS having certain desired characteristics, such as hardness and dura:

bility with'lack of brittleness, certain chem,

tuminous substances,imxed with other ingredients, such as'vulcanizable rubberin such amount that whatever vulcanization. takes ens or sets after the molding operation, the characteristic brittleness of thebaseqbeing eliminated and at the same time hardmolded articles being obtained which.. have the requisite heat resistance,

ness to adaptthemfor purposes for. whlch hard rubber is now commonly employed,

while, at the same tin1e,the costls much reduced by reason 'ofthe fact-thatless'-expen-. sive ingredients are utilizedand operations are dispensed with, such as the vulcanizing operation after molding. The above objectsiare attained, by the present invention whichmay be here briefly sum-' marized as consisting 1n a, mo'ldabl'e composi--,

tion composed of certain ingredients and in] I V overcome. by theadditlon of the cement which a process of producing. the compound and the finished article therefrom, as Wlllbe de-. scribed in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

' Myimproved compound and' process-are adapted for the production of a great many articles..but theyare employedvery advantageously in the production of storage battery. boxes, storage-battery. covers and the 1 like, which 'are'required to havea considerable degree of hardness, reslstance to acid-cor-p rosion, and flexibility to avoid breakage and The compound'can be used also in the production of: other articles which are required to have a part or'all of the above i mentioned properties.

In producing my nnproved. compound, I l

employ a number of ingredients,-certain of provide place occurs during the mixing of the ingredients, and a cement which automatically hard-.

flexibility and tough- Applicationffiled S'eptemher 192a Serial K 11325513.

which are particularly important by-their action'in shaping or determining'the char acteristics of the finished product and which undergocertain chemical changes and make it possible to eliminate expensive operationswhich heretofore have added much to the cost of the finished product without producing a product superior to that obtainednfronimy improved compound and the process carried out byme in the production of the compound and the finished article. ,Among the ingredients,yIempl0y an inexpensive base, 'preferl V j ably a bltuminous product such as gilsonite, aim of the 1nto which is added'a fibrous substance such as cotton flox, one or more fillers including a cement, and a certain amount of vulcaniza-ble rubber with sulphur. Just enough rubber and sulphur are added so that the rubber will yulcanize during the mixing and by the heat generated-inthe mixing, the rubber adding to the toughness and removing thebrittleness of the bituminous base, care being e'xer 'cised that the amount of5vulcanized rubber thus produced does not destroy the plasticity ofthe compound-nor interfere Withthe subsequent molding. .Howe'venby the addition ofth rubber'and sulphur a chelnicalreac t1on takesplace in the mixing, the chief function of which is to reduce the brittleness o l I the gilsonite or other base.

W il h ru rv performsi thedesirable q "functions mentioned above-, it would have. one

undesirable property, namely the reduction.

of heatresistancdfivhich, ifnot counteracted would be detrimental for certain uses of the compound,- such as, for example, the produc} tion of storage battery. boxes, but this is ing of the cement results in another chemical change after the molding operation, both of these chemical changes having the distinct advantages pointed out above and taking place without any, special treatment which would -add-to thecost of the product. i

In addition to the ingredients above mentioned, I prefer toaadd'asmall; percentage of wax or oil to prevent the compound sticking to the-rolls in the mixing operation and to the 3 i memes interlacing the brittleness oi the bituminous base, 3

The rubber which is added is'p'reicrably reclaimed devulcanized rubber which is usually obtained by grinding and devulcanizing waste rubber products such as tires.

While it is to be understood that I am not to be confined to the precise ingredients mentioned below nor to the proportions given, as times may be varied, very good results have been obtained by the admixture of the tollowing ingredients mixed in substantially the following proportions by weight:

7 Parts. Gilsoniteflwc 81 Mineral rubber e a 10 Wax or oil -e- "a l-. 4 Cotton -fiox i l i r cr l l Portland cement; c 25 Shale or slate fioiii' r s a n 2O Reclaimed rubber 8 Sulphurahr s ar c a 3 While the ingredients may bemixed in dif; ferent ways, I have produced very satisfactory results'by carrying out tl e'proccss in the "followingmanner: v I v The ingredients are all placed at once'in a suitable mixer, such as a Banbui-y mixer, the

ingredients being mixed and heated for approximately five minutes, a small amount of water being' sometimes added just prior to the close 01 this mixing ope 'ation, about a quart of water being added to approximately 191lbs. of the mixed ingredients. From the mixer the compound is then run through an ordinary rubber mill where the ingredients are further mixed and heated. Both in the mixer and in the rubber mill heat is generated by the friction of the. rolls steamfliowever, being generally supplied to the rolls of the mill to facilitate the mixing, increase the plasticity and in driving out the moisture to initiate the heating. The heat which is imparted to the compound in the mixer and in the mill produces the vulcanization ot' the rubber, the'sulphur sewing not only to vulcanize the rubber but also to harden the gilsonite and mineral rubber, but nevertheless the compound is plastic.

The compound is taken direct from the mill and placed in molds and molded to produce the final articles Without any reheating or further treatment of the compound. The valcanization of the rubber, while toughening the compound somewhat, does not destroy its plasticity nor does it make it sufficiently hard to prevent the molding of the finished'articles 7 when the compound is taken from the mill and placed in the molds. v

Quantities of the compound are removed from the mixer and placed in the mill so as to keep a continuous supply in the mill for immediate use in the molds, the operator taking from the inilldefinite quantities of the compound and placing the same 1n the molds which are operated by hydraulicpresses, a suihcient number of which are PI'OVlClQCl t'O consume the compound continuously passing through the mixer and mill The molds of the presses are preferably water-cooled, and after an articlehas been molded from the hot plastic con'ipound it is allowed to remain in the molds for a brief period, say, two tothr-ee minutes, until the molded article has cooled and hardened suiiiciently to permit it "to be removed from the mold in a finished condition except for the removal of a small amount oftlash, and after the article has been allows to stand for a given time it reaches its permanently hard state by the setting of the cement Whichis, of course, now thoroughly intermixed throughout the article.

This results in an article or product hav-V for the particular purpose otbringing about these chemical changes.

In the rubber mill the ingredients are not only thoroughly mixed together and inaintained in a'plastic state notwithstanding the vulcanization of the rubbi and possible partial setting of the cement, but the com pound is uniformly heated throughout. Accordingly it is highly desirabletliat the compound'be taken .irom the mill direct to the mold Without giving the compound an opportunity to cool and without any additional or intermediate heating, for otherwise the plasticity otthe compound wouldbe adversely affected. An intermediate heating would tend to heat the compound more on the surface than on the interior and would result in tli'ecformati'on of surface crust.

It is awell known fact that cement in itself is not acid proof, but this has no particular disadvantagewhen my improved compound and process'are used in the production of storage battery boxes or other re ceptaclesadapted to contain acid, for most the acid will attach only the cement which is exposed on the inner surface of the the acid does not penetrate the walls. However, even the attacking of the cement which is exposed on the inner surface can be avoided by the use of a suitable substance which Will render the cement inert to acid.

An ingredient employed advantageouslyiior this purpose is silicate of soda. In the use of this ingredient a suitable quantity is dissolved in water and mixed With the cement which is then supplied to the mixer with the other ingredients heretofore mentioned. .lVhen the cement has addedto it the water-glass solution mentioned above, it

is, of course, notinecessary to later add any Water to the mixer as" is desirable if the.

watenglass solution isnot employed.

It might be added 1n conclusion that not only does the Water-glass render the cement inert to acids but it also adds to the heat re 7 ticles, which consists in mixing together a suitable base, a fibrous material, VLllCflIlizable rubber and cement, the mixing taking place under a heat'condltlon wh ch vulcanlzes the rubber, and removing a predetermined vquantity of the heated plastic compound thereby formed and placing the same in a mold, molding the article and allowing the article to cool to harden it.

2. A process of producing molded articles which comprises mixing in a heated state a suitable base, a fibrous material, a material which will harden by the action of heat during the mixing operation, and a material which will harden after the molding operation in the absence of heat, and molding a quantity of the heated plastic compound thereby formed into the article to be produced. and allowing the same to stand for a predetermined time to permit the article to assume its permanently hard condition.

3. A method of producing a molded article 7 which comprises mixing together and form ing a heated plastic compound from ingredients including a bituminousbase, a fibrous substance, rubber, sulphur and cement, placing in a mold a definite quantity of the heated compound thus formed in the mixer, molding the article, and allowing it to. cool and stand after molding so as to assume its permanent hardness by the setting of the cement.

, In testimony whereof, I- hereunto afiix my signature.

CHARLES E. TURRELL. 

